sperry



Dec. 4, 192s. 1,693,966

- E. A. sPERRY OIL URNING ENGINE FiledSept. 26 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet l lHIS ATTORNE Dec. 4, 1928. 1,693,966 E. A. sPERRY OIL BURNING ENGINEFiled Sept. 26 1919 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 l lx1 l 45 l BY Y HIS ATTORN Dec.v4, 1928.

E. A. SPERRY on.. BURNING ENGINE Filed sept. 26 1919 5 sheets-sheet `3 iINVENTOR [LMER/fmx :1Km um HIS ATTORNE Patented Dec. 4, 1928. K

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

A. SPERRY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSGNOR TO SPEB-RY DEVELOIMENTCOMPANY, 0F :DOVER GREEN, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

OIL-BURNING ENGINE.

Application filed September 26, 1919. Serial No. 326,654.

, This invention relates to internal combustionengin'es of the Diesel oroil burning` type. The invention especially relates to fuel injecting.means'for such engines and comprises an improved injecting means and animproved combustion ormixing chamber therefor whereby the oil may beinjected into the cylinder in a solid liet and'at the same time acomplete mixture of the fuel with the air in the combustion space0bt-ained thereby securing the highest efliciency in an engine of thistype.

.By means of exhaustive experiments have determined theexact formassumed by a jet of oil discharged under the conditions present in acombustion cylinder and have designed a fuel nozzle and combustion spaceso that the fuel will reach practically instantly upon its dischargefrom the nozzle all parts of the combustion space, and in the form ofafog lor mist, while atthe same time a minimum amount impinges orcondenses uponthe walls ofthe cylinder or the piston head. WThile myinvention is equally well adapted for hotlrsimple and multipleVexpansion engines l have shown the same in connection with a four cyclecompound engine to which my invention has especial adaptation andwherein combustion cylinder is symmetrically placed on each side of anexpansion cylinder and alternately exhausted into the same. The engineis preferably of the general type disclosed in my vcopending applicationSerial No. 181,204,

liled duly 18, 1917 in which'a large clearanceis empleyed in thecombustion cylinder and the intake air is precompresset prior to itsentry to the c ylinder where further compression is keffected ontheusual compression stroke.

Referring to the drawings in which what I now consider the preferredform of my invention is shown: y

1 is a vertical section through the (.ompound engine constructedlaccording to my invention.l y

2 is an enlarged vertical section through one of the combustioncylinders.

Fig. 8 is a vertical section of one of the oil inje tion valves.

Fig. f1 is a horizontal section takenon line lf-4l of'Fig.` l.

Fig. 5 is a section view showing a slight modilication in the shape ofthe clearance or combustion space.'

Fig. 6 is a similar View of a further modification.

Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of a modified form of injection valve.

Fig. 8 isa similar view of a third modi? fication.

Fig. 9 is a vertical section of one of the combined induction andtransfer valves shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. l0 is a side view of one of `said valves showing the mechanism tooperate the same.

Figs'll and 12 are details of two forms of nozzles used to supply theoil jets.

As stated, my invention is shown as applied to a compound internalcombustion engine comprising a central expansion cylinder 1 and piston 2and a pair of combustion cylinders 3 and 4 placed Ion opposite sides ofsaid expansion cylinder. At theV explo# sion end of each combustioncylinder is located a fuel 'valve 5. Said Valve is of specialconstruction and is adapted to inject fueloil into the cylinderperiodically at very high pressure and without the employment ofcompressed air. The fuel valve as shown comprises ka valve proper 6seated uponl the valve seat 7 to which oil is supplied at high pressurethrough the channel 8 to which pipe 9 is connected. The valve isnormally held on its seat by astitl spring 1.0 and may bekperiodicallylifted at the proper time in the cycle by any suitable means such as alever 11 bearing against the collar 12 on the valve and pivoted at 18. Acam 14 on a cam shaftvl serves to operate the lever by striking the freeend 16 in a well-known manner.

The'fuel oil is supplied under very high pressure by means such as apump 17 operated in anydesired manner, not shovvmfrom gam shaft 15. Fromthe pump the oil is led through pipe 18 to the transversely extendingpipe 9 connected to the valve on each combustion cylinder. In said lineis provided at least one air chamber 19 by means of which the highpressure ofthe fuel is maintained when either valve opens. The

chamber 19 is shown as connected in the pipe line 9 between the twovalves 5 and 5 and spaced from each. In addition to or instead ofchamber 19 there may be provided a pair of chambers 20 and 21, onelocated adjacent'each valve so that the high pressure may be maintainedimmediately adjacent eachv valve. Below the valve and valve seat is anoil chamber 22 formed by member 223, constituting the valve seat, andthe cap 2l forming the nozzle portion of the valve. ln said cap are aplurality of laterally positioned orifices 25 designed to extrude theoil transversely of the combustion cylinder and the clearance space QG,

A passage 27 connects each combustion cylinder with the expansioncylinderi said passage being formed for the most part by the Clearancespace Q6 in the combustion cyl inder. Said passage is closed adjacentthe expansion cylinder by means of the transfer valve 28. Juxtaposed tosaid valve and preferably forming a part thereof is an intake orinduction valve Q9 shown as formed as a sleeve surrounding the stem 30of the transfer' valve, the details of ivhich form no part of thepresentinvention but are hereinafter briefly stated.

As hereinbefore stated the pressure of the oil used, thesize andlocation of the orificesI and the contour of the combined clearance andtransfer space in the combustion cylinder are so designed as to furnisha complete mixture of finely divided oil and air lilling the saidspacecompletely but Without \vet ting the perimeter thereof. Byexhaustive experiments l have determined thatl a jet of oil whendischarged through a suitable orifice at high predetermined pressurepossesses certain definite characteristics lWhen discharged into gaseshaving a. predetermined pressure and of requisite volume such as issecured in the precompressed gases in the combustion cylinder of acompound engine constructed according to my invention. The pressure ofdischarge, the character of theoritice7 and the pressure encountered bythe jet mustr all be properly adjusted and coordinated to secure thedesired result. typical example of such a jet is shown in Fig. 2representing roughly the behavior of the when discharged under Whatmaybe considered as high pressures, say from 180 to 360 atmospheres,through an orilice, say to l5 thousandths of an inch, generallycapillary as to the fuel employed and substantially more than onediameter long into air of `from Ll0() to G00 pounds pressure per squareinch. lt will be noted that the oil leaves the orifice in a solid streamLl0 beyond which it feathers into a spray7 Lll. Still. further from thenozzle the spray seems to vaporize into a mist or fog 4t2 which spreadsoutwardly so that the Whole jet seems to assume a pear shaped form. Onincrease of pressure the feathering is found to 'tatie place closer andcloser to the nozzle until at very high pressures vthe solid portion ofthe jet almost, vanishes and may be considered as substantiallfYconfined to the nozzle itself. As stated the eliavior is also dependent'upon the pressure and to a limited extent upon the volume of the gasesinto which the jet is discharged, the characteristics under highpressure such as l employ in an engine of this character. beingdifferent troni thc behavior atmospheric pressure. ln my compound enginehigh etliciency is obtained by the employment of a very large clearancespace in the comlnistion cylinder and (f) by emplt'iying a highprecomprcssir1n pressure. 'the latter is attained by precompressing theintalte air for the combustion cylinder followed by a furthercompression vcith said cylinder. 'lhis large clearance sace lends itselfadmirably to the employment of iets of the character described, sincejet; while the high pressure of the gases stabilizes the jet structure.

ln order to obtain the most complete mixture possible lY have designedthis clearancel .space in the combustion cylinder with retcrente to theobserved shape ot the jets at the pressure desired to bc used or employa shape as will best acconnntulate such iets. having duc regard for themechanical tcaturcs of the design. 'l`l1us,as shown in VFig'. i2. theouter n'all lil of the cylindcr is convex in shape so that a minimumtransverse arca is provided i imediately adjacent the nozzle. said areaincreasing in accordance vfitli thc size and shape ofthe jet. The top llof the piston s may also he designc'l to cooperatl` vfii'h the cylinderwallsl in furnishing a suit`H able mixing space. rlo this end l haveshown thc top 4.4. of the piston as ot a convex uhape yvhercby the spaceadjacent thc nozzle is a minimum3 such space gradually increasingsymmetrically on both sides. ot thc center line of the comlmstion spaceand jet.y

instead of employing only one orilice. honever7 l prefer to employ aplurality ol' ori liccs ivhich discharge in many or opposite directionsso that the valve may bc more or less centrally located and cxtrndc tbciets in a plurality of directions substantially radially of thecylindcr. '.llhc iet (1.,. llicrci'occ. shown in Fig. 2 extendsoppositcly to iet il and toward the induction valve 2f?.

The combined clearance space and transfer space 2G and 2i' is of similardcsign to the space on the opposite side ot' the valv and tor tirspurposey the valve may bc ccccntrically located with respect to the.centcr line of the cylinder. 'The approzdmatt` shape ot the clearancespace in plan may bc obtained by rel'crciue to Fig. in ths ligure thetop ot the combustion cylinder is represented at l while the no1/cle is.shown at 2st and the induction slcc-vc valve atV if). The e earanccspace it will bc vecu in vertical section is stmicivhat in the shape ol'a dumbl I L 1 -c tric. but in icrnneter.

in; a more or ,css elliptiiv i' n 'his` cmlnnlimcnt eight' Sli lou

vthe clearance space.

orifices al, a2, a3, (14,721, Z22, rc1, c2 are usedextruded. The freshair around the valve is thus lthorougl'ily mixed. v n

Another characteristic of the jets `is that the smaller th'e orifice thecloser to the nozzle the! feathering takes place. Therefore, I prefer tomake the orifices lettered a of the same size and larger than either ofthe two groups of orifices lettered b and c since the orifices a are agreater distance lfrom the walls than the other two. orifices c arepreferably made larger than the orifices 7), being slightly'ft'ntherfrom the rcylinder walls.

For igniting the mixture I may employ an electrically heated Vcoil 50situated in the cylinder 'wall and projecting laterally into The heatingof said coil is preferably automatically controlled in accordance withthe requirements of the engine as disclosed in lmy Vcopendingapplication, Serial No.'312,193, for valve mechanism for internalcombustion engines.

In Fig. 5 is shown how the shape of the ncombustion space may be variedto suit the different pressures of -oil used and other vari ableconditions such as the varying'conditions of oil, or size of theorifices, or pressure of air used within the cylinder. Fig. 5 forinstance shows a clearance space for a jet having a longer solid portionthan that shown in Fig; 2. The walls of the clearance space extend,therefore, for a greater distance from the center before spreadingoutwardly` to V.form the largerclearance space.

Figs.` 6l and 12 show a still further modification .which avoidsv theuserof the -convex top piston. According to thismodiication thevariations in volume of the jet is taken care of by the curvature of theouter wall 43 of the combustion cylinderv in combinaltion with orifices(see Fig. l2) which are inclined slightly upwardlyso that the jets aredischarged approximately along the center line 5l of the combustionspace as in the preferred form. Vhile the orifices vary in size all ofthem are preferably small and long enough so that the capillarity orviscosity of the oil will prevent discharge of the eil therethroughwhen'the valve 6 is closed therebyy allowing the chamber 22 tor remainfilled. Said chamber may be designed to hold approximately thechargerequired for one cycle of the engine (see Figs. ll and l2). Preferablyalso the walls 52 of the Ycap 24 The nozzle 24 is so positionedlSimilarly the are thicker than the diameter of the jets so thatl thewallof each orifice 25 is at least twice the length of the diameter for thepurpose of givlng the jet the proper characteristics and to introducethe proper amount of skin friction and shear into the jet for theimportant objects detailed' herein. (F ig. 1l.) Ifv the length of 'theorifice is too great the walls 24 may be cut away around the orifice25,as shown in Fig` l2. Also the. walls yof the cap maybe made more or lessresilient if desired to avoid shocks. One method of accomplishing thispurpose .is shown in Fig. 7 where cap 24 is formed with a bulgingportionGO whereby the walls are made more lor less resilient. Anothermethod of'accomplishinof this purpose is shown in Fig. 8 wherein thebottom 6l of the cap 24 is corrugated for the same'purpose.

A preferred construction for combined transfer and intake valve is`shown in Figs. 9 and 10. In these figures the valves are shown asconeentrically mounted with the intake valve comprising a sleeve 29sur-V rounding the stem 8O of the transfer valve 28 as stated above. Theintakeair coming in through passage 33 flows down through openings 32 inthe sleeve valve and through channels 31 in the stem 30 and out betweenthe top of the transfer valve 28 andthe sleeve valve when the latterislifted. The stem .30 may be provided with a small bore 34 to equalizepressures on the valve. The stem extends'upwardly and may be provided atits outer end with collars 35 and A3G between which the forks 37 of anactuating lever 38 take.v Said lever is pivoted at 39 andis. operatedfrom the cam shaft l5 by cam 40. The intake or sleeve valve extendsupwardly and is provided with an annular extension 41 against which theforks 42 and of a second lever 43 bear. Said lever is pivoted at 44 onthe link 45 connected preferablyto lever ,38 and also to a'short link46. Said lever is. operated from said camv Vshaft 15 by the cam 47. Aheavy spring 48 serves to hold both valves on their seats, while aspring 49 holds the transfer valve on its seat when the intake valve israised, as will be readily apparent.

In accordance with the provision of the patent statutes, I have hereindescribed the principle of operation of my invention, to-

gether with the apparatus which I now con- Having described myinvention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In a .combustion engine, the combination with the combustioncylinder, of a clearance space at theend of the same having anhour-glass or dumbsbell section the lobes of Which have a longer andshorter axis and with its longer axis at a substantial angle to the axisof the cylinder and means for eXtruding fuel in the form of a. jetdirectly along the axis ofsaid section.

2. ln a combustion engine of the Diesel type, a combustion cylinderhaving a convex end, a fuel valve located adjacent the apex of said endhaving` a plurality of orifices adapted to direct the liquid fuelunmixed with air transversely of the cylinder in a plurality ofdirections and means for maintaining said liquid fuel under highpressure.

3. A combustion engine as claimed in claim 2 in which the size of theorifices varies in accordance with the distance of the cylinder Wallfrom each orifice.

d. In a fuel oil engine, the combination with a cylinder and pistonhaving a clearance space at one end thereof, an int-,lie valvelocated-to one side of said end, a fuel injection valve having anoriiice adapted to discharge liquid fuel unmiXe-zl with air in thegeneral direction of said intake valve and means for maintaining theroil under sufficient pressure to cause it to break into a mist or fogupon injection into cylinder.

5. ln a fuel oil engine, the combination with a cylinder and pistonyhaving a clearance space at one end thereof, an intake sleeve valvelocated to one side of said end, and extending across said space and aful injection valve having a plurality of orifices adaptedfto dischargeliquid fuel to each side of said intake valve.

6. ln a. combustion engine, the combination With the-cylinder having acombustion chamber and an induction valve, a passage connecting saidvalve and cylinder forming` a part of said chamber, and a. fuel nozzlelocated at a. distance from said valve having an orifice adapted todirect fuel transversely along said passage in ythe general direction ofsaid valve.

ln a. combustion engine, the combination with the cylinder having acombustion chamber and an induction sleeve valve, a passage connectingsaid valve and cylinder forming a part of said chamber, lsaid valvebeing at the far end of said passage and a. fuel nozzle located at adistance from said valve having orifice-s adapted to direct fuel alongsaid passage to either side of said valve, l

8. ln a compound combustion engine having al combustion and an expansioncylinder located sideby side, the former having an elongated clearancespace overlying the same and theadjac-ent side of expansion cylinder, atransfer valve leading into said expansion cylinder from said space anda remotely located fuel injection device adapted to project the fueltoward said valve transversely of the cylinder.

9. In a combustion engine having a compound combustion cylinder andpiston, .said cylinder having a combustion space above the pistonextending transversely bevond the piston on the side adjacent theexpansion cylinder, a fuel valve and adapted to project liquid fuel fuelunmixed with ai' and ccntrally located with respect to said space butecccnt-rically located with respect' to the cylinder bore and means tormaintaining said fuel under high pressure.

l0. ln a combustion engine having a compound combustion cylinder andpiston, said cylinder-having a combustion space above the pistonexending transversely beyond the piston on the side adjacent theexpansion cylinder, an intake valve located at lsuch side. a fuel valveand adapted to project liquid fuel unmixed ivith air and centrallylocated with respect to .said space but eccentrically located withrespect to the cylinder bore.

ll. ln a compound combustion engine baving high and lovv pressurecylinders, the former having an elongated combustion space extendingtoward the latter, a transfer valve and an intake valve at the end ofsaid space adjacent said low pressure cylinder and a fuel valvecentrally located in said space and adapted to project liquid fuel in aplurality of transverse directions.

l2. In al combustion engine of the Diesel type, the combination with acombustion cylinder having a clearance space at the end of the same, ofa fuel nozzle tor direct ing a plurality of into said space. the wallsof said cylinder being so formed that said clearance space hassubstantially the shape of the jets when vaporized under predeterminedpressure conditions. the Walla of said clearance space heilig at varyingdie.j tanccs from said nozzles, and 1n aus whereby the lengths of saidjets are made to correspond to the distances between the `valls of saidclearance space and said nozzle.

13. In a combustion engine of tl e Diesel type, the combinatitm with acombustion cylinder and a piston operating in .said c vlinder, therebeing a clca ance space formed bctWeen said cylimlcr and the end of.said piston, of a fuel nozzle for direc-ting a plurality of jets intosaid space, the walls ot said cylinder and the end of said piston beingso formed that said space hasl substantially the shape of the jets whenvapor-ized under j redetermined pre sure conditions. the Walls of saidclearance space being at varying distances from said nozzle, and meanstitl llt)

whereby the lengths of said jets are made to correspond to the distancesbetween the walls of said clearance space and said nozzle.

14. An oil engine of the type in which liquid fuel is ignited throughcontact with heated compressed air, comprising a cylinder, a pistonsliding within the cylinder', the opposing faces of the cylinder headand piston both being shaped to cooperate in forming a combustionchamber when the piston is substantially at the top of its stroke havingan outer annular portion of sub stantial depth, an inner central portionof restricted depth and substantially less in depth than the outerportion and communicating therewith through a portion flaring outwardly,and oil spraying means located at the central restricted portion of thecombustion chamber and designed to spray oil in a radial directiondirectly to the hot core of air inthe outer annular portion of thecombustion chamber without cooling by contact with the piston orcylinder walls.

15. An oil engine of the type in which liquid fuel is ignited throughcontact with heated compressed air, comprising a cylinder, a pistonsliding within the cylinder, the opposing faces of the cylinder head andpiston both being shaped to cooperate in forming a combustion chamberwhen the piston is substantially at the top of its stroke having anouter annular portion with a depth approximating one-quarter thediameter-of the combustion chamber, an inner central portion ofsubstantially less depth than the outer annular portion andcommunieating therewith through a portion flaring outwardly, and oilspraying means located at the central restricted portion of thecombustion chamber and designed to spray oil in a radial directiondirectly to the hot coreof compressed air located in the annular portionof the chamber `without cooling by contact with the piston or cylinderWalls.'

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed In signature. Y

ELMER A. SPERRY.

